Chat Application using Socket IO Node and React

Socket IO is a JavaScript library for real-time web applications. It enables real-time, bidirectional and event-based communication between clients and servers.

In this article, we will be creating a simple chat application using Node.js, Socket IO and React. Socket IO will be used for server-side communication and React will be used for the client-side interface.

Setting up the Server

First, we need to install Socket IO in our Node.js server. Open your terminal and run the following command:

npm install socket.io

Next, we need to create a server using Node.js and Socket IO. Here is a sample code to create a simple Socket IO server:

        const app = require('express')();
        const http = require('http').Server(app);
        const io = require('socket.io')(http);

        io.on('connection', (socket) => {
            console.log('a user connected');

            socket.on('chat message', (msg) => {
                io.emit('chat message', msg);
            });
        });

        http.listen(3000, () => {
            console.log('listening on *:3000');
        });
    

Creating the React Client

Next, we need to create a React client that will communicate with our Socket IO server. Here is a sample code to create a simple chat interface using React:

        import React, { Component } from 'react';
        import io from 'socket.io-client';

        const socket = io('http://localhost:3000');

        class ChatApp extends Component {
            constructor(props) {
                super(props);

                this.state = {
                    messages: [],
                    message: ''
                };

                socket.on('chat message', (msg) => {
                    this.setState({ messages: [...this.state.messages, msg] });
                });
            }

            handleMessageChange = (e) => {
                this.setState({ message: e.target.value });
            };

            sendMessage = () => {
                socket.emit('chat message', this.state.message);
                this.setState({ message: '' });
            };

            render() {
                return (
                    

                        

                            {this.state.messages.map((msg, index) => (
                                
{msg}
                            ))}
                        
                        
                        Send
                    
                );
            }
        }

        export default ChatApp;
    

Conclusion

By combining Node.js, Socket IO and React, we have created a simple chat application that allows real-time communication between clients and servers. This technology can be used to create various applications such as chat rooms, real-time gaming and collaborative editing tools.

This is a simple example of how to create a chat application using Socket IO Node and React. You can further enhance the application by adding features such as user authentication, message encryption, and file sharing. Experiment with different functionalities and create your own real-time communication tools using Socket IO and React.